Dear Superintendent, Principal, Curriculum Director, and other Administrators,
You don’t know me, but I’m writing to you with a request.
For my friends and colleagues who are in school leadership, please check on your multilingual educators, leaders, coordinators, and directors, many of whom are preoccupied with the chaos, fear and uncertainty their students and families are facing from recent and incoming political attacks on immigrant communities. Please know and understand that no, ACCESS testing actually shouldn’t be their top priority right now. The hearts of the human beings we serve should be our top priority: our students, our families, and our teachers and leaders serving them.
This is a time for you to extend your compassion. Check in on them in person. “How can I support you right now?” And no, they may not have a real answer for you, and that’s okay. But please, please know that they are worried sick. They’re trying to be strong. I know you, too, are also trying to be strong. Please prioritize your people.
Leadership can be demonstrated through patience, understanding, flexibility, and your willingness to adapt. If you have a team that says they’re delaying testing right now so that they can come together with students and do some therapeutic activities, or just play games, or whatever it is that students are demonstrating what they need. Please encourage your teachers and teams by telling them that you trust their professional judgment.
Leadership can also be demonstrated by showing support and having conversations. Is your school or system being proactive in addressing anti-immigrant rhetoric right now? If not, please invest time in having dialogue and action planning about this. Lean on being proactive and not reactive. This can be as easy as emailing a few folks on your team and/or in leadership and asking to set up a time to chat.
Please, please check on your people. Your teammates who are in dual, bilingual, and EL programs might be feeling helpless, hopeless, anxious, and downright scared. Don’t let them feel alone. Please be good to each other. Hold each other up. A message, a stop-by, a check-in, an email. Extend every kindness and grace you can.
“I’m thinking of you.”
“I got you.”
“Whatever you need.”
“I’m here.”
“This sucks.”
“I love our students.”
“I love our families.”
“We have each other.”
“You are not alone.”
“You don’t have to do anything by yourself.”
“Lean on me.”
“Lean on us.”
We don’t know how much this may be impacting our teammates and colleagues. Our directors need your allyship, too. We don’t know how scared or alone they may be feeling. We don’t know if they’re being eaten alive by fear, or if they’re managing okay with tools and coping and support. Please just take the time. Please.
The Illinois Resource Center is committed to supporting and advocating for immigrant students and their families. For a full bank of resources on this topic, visit our website.
